The Daily Audio Bible
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The Route of the Exodus
17 When Pharaoh let the people go, God did not lead them along the road to the land of the Philistines, even though it was nearby; for God said, “The people will change their minds and return to Egypt if they face war.”(A) 18 So He led the people around toward the Red Sea along the road of the wilderness. And the Israelites left the land of Egypt in battle formation.(B)
19 Moses took the bones of Joseph(C) with him, because Joseph had made the Israelites swear a solemn oath, saying, “God will certainly come to your aid; then you must take my bones with you from this place.”
20 They set out from Succoth and camped at Etham on the edge of the wilderness. 21 The Lord went ahead of them in a pillar of cloud(D) to lead them on their way during the day and in a pillar of fire to give them light at night, so that they could travel day or night. 22 The pillar of cloud by day and the pillar of fire by night never left its place in front of the people.
14 Then the Lord spoke to Moses: 2 “Tell the Israelites to turn back and camp in front of Pi-hahiroth, between Migdol and the sea; you must camp in front of Baal-zephon, facing it by the sea.(E) 3 Pharaoh will say of the Israelites: They are wandering around the land in confusion; the wilderness has boxed them in. 4 I will harden Pharaoh’s heart so that he will pursue them. Then I will receive glory by means of Pharaoh and all his army, and the Egyptians will know that I am Yahweh.” So the Israelites did this.(F)
The Egyptian Pursuit
5 When the king of Egypt was told that the people had fled, Pharaoh and his officials changed their minds about the people and said: “What have we done? We have released Israel from serving us.” 6 So he got his chariot ready and took his troops[a] with him; 7 he took 600 of the best chariots and all the rest of the chariots of Egypt, with officers in each one. 8 The Lord hardened the heart of Pharaoh king of Egypt, and he pursued the Israelites, who were going out triumphantly.[b](G) 9 The Egyptians—all Pharaoh’s horses and chariots, his horsemen,[c] and his army—chased(H) after them and caught up with them as they camped by the sea beside Pi-hahiroth, in front of Baal-zephon.
10 As Pharaoh approached, the Israelites looked up and saw the Egyptians coming after them. Then the Israelites were terrified and cried out(I) to the Lord for help. 11 They said to Moses: “Is it because there are no graves in Egypt that you took us to die in the wilderness? What have you done to us by bringing us out of Egypt? 12 Isn’t this what we told you in Egypt: Leave us alone so that we may serve the Egyptians? It would have been better for us to serve the Egyptians than to die in the wilderness.”(J)
13 But Moses said to the people, “Don’t be afraid. Stand firm and see(K) the Lord’s salvation He will provide for you today; for the Egyptians you see today, you will never see again. 14 The Lord will fight for you; you must be quiet.”(L)
Escape through the Red Sea
15 The Lord said to Moses, “Why are you crying out to Me? Tell the Israelites to break camp. 16 As for you, lift up your staff, stretch out your hand over the sea, and divide it so that the Israelites can go through the sea on dry ground.(M) 17 I am going to harden the hearts of the Egyptians so that they will go in after them, and I will receive glory by means of Pharaoh, all his army, and his chariots and horsemen. 18 The Egyptians will know that I am Yahweh when I receive glory through Pharaoh, his chariots, and his horsemen.”
19 Then the Angel of God,(N) who was going in front of the Israelite forces, moved and went behind them. The pillar of cloud moved from in front of them and stood behind them.(O) 20 It came between the Egyptian and Israelite forces. The cloud was there in the darkness, yet it lit up the night.[d] So neither group came near the other all night long.
21 Then Moses stretched out his hand over the sea. The Lord drove the sea back with a powerful east wind all that night and turned the sea into dry land. So the waters were divided,(P) 22 and the Israelites went through the sea on dry ground, with the waters like a wall to them on their right and their left.(Q)
23 The Egyptians set out in pursuit—all Pharaoh’s horses, his chariots, and his horsemen—and went into the sea after them. 24 Then during the morning watch, the Lord looked down on the Egyptian forces from the pillar of fire(R) and cloud, and threw them into confusion. 25 He caused their chariot wheels to swerve[e][f] and made them drive[g] with difficulty. “Let’s get away from Israel,” the Egyptians said, “because Yahweh is fighting for them against Egypt!”
26 Then the Lord said to Moses, “Stretch out your hand over the sea so that the waters may come back on the Egyptians, on their chariots and horsemen.” 27 So Moses stretched out his hand over the sea, and at daybreak the sea returned to its normal depth. While the Egyptians were trying to escape from it, the Lord threw them into the sea.(S) 28 The waters came back and covered the chariots(T) and horsemen, the entire army of Pharaoh, that had gone after them into the sea. None of them survived.
29 But the Israelites had walked through the sea on dry ground, with the waters like a wall to them on their right and their left. 30 That day the Lord saved Israel from the power of the Egyptians, and Israel saw the Egyptians dead on the seashore. 31 When Israel saw the great power that the Lord used against the Egyptians, the people feared the Lord and believed(U) in Him and in His servant Moses.
Israel’s Song
15 Then Moses and the Israelites sang this song to the Lord. They said:
I will sing to the Lord,
for He is highly exalted;
He has thrown the horse
and its rider into the sea.
2 The Lord is my strength and my song;[h]
He has become my salvation.(V)
This is my God, and I will praise Him,
my father’s God, and I will exalt Him.(W)
3 The Lord is a warrior;(X)
Yahweh is His name.(Y)
4 He threw Pharaoh’s chariots
and his army into the sea;
the elite of his officers
were drowned in the Red Sea.(Z)
5 The floods covered them;
they sank to the depths like a stone.(AA)
6 Lord, Your right hand is glorious in power.
Lord, Your right hand shattered the enemy.(AB)
7 You overthrew Your adversaries
by Your great majesty.
You unleashed Your burning wrath;
it consumed them like stubble.(AC)
8 The waters heaped up(AD) at the blast of Your nostrils;
the currents stood firm like a dam.
The watery depths congealed in the heart of the sea.
9 The enemy said:
“I will pursue, I will overtake,
I will divide the spoil.(AE)
My desire will be gratified at their expense.
I will draw my sword;
my hand will destroy[i] them.”
10 But You blew with Your breath,
and the sea covered them.
They sank like lead
in the mighty waters.
11 Lord, who is like You among the gods?
Who is like You, glorious in holiness,(AF)
revered with praises, performing wonders?(AG)
12 You stretched out Your right hand,
and the earth swallowed them.
13 You will lead the people
You have redeemed
with Your faithful love;
You will guide them to Your holy dwelling
with Your strength.(AH)
14 When the peoples hear, they will shudder;
anguish will seize the inhabitants of Philistia.
15 Then the chiefs of Edom will be terrified;(AI)
trembling will seize the leaders of Moab;
the inhabitants of Canaan will panic;
16 and terror(AJ) and dread will fall on them.
They will be as still[j] as a stone
because of Your powerful arm
until Your people pass by, Lord,
until the people whom You purchased[k] pass by.(AK)
Messiah’s Authority Challenged
23 When He entered the temple complex,(A) the chief priests and the elders of the people came up to Him as He was teaching and said, “By what authority are You doing these things? Who gave You this authority?”(B)
24 Jesus answered them, “I will also ask you one question, and if you answer it for Me, then I will tell you by what authority I do these things. 25 Where did John’s baptism come from? From heaven or from men?”
They began to argue among themselves, “If we say, ‘From heaven,’ He will say to us, ‘Then why didn’t you believe him?’(C) 26 But if we say, ‘From men,’ we’re afraid of the crowd,(D) because everyone thought John was a prophet.”(E) 27 So they answered Jesus, “We don’t know.”
And He said to them, “Neither will I tell you by what authority I do these things.
The Parable of the Two Sons
28 “But what do you think? A man had two sons. He went to the first and said, ‘My son, go, work in the vineyard today.’(F)
29 “He answered, ‘I don’t want to!’ Yet later he changed his mind and went. 30 Then the man went to the other and said the same thing.
“‘I will, sir,’ he answered. But he didn’t go.
31 “Which of the two did his father’s will?”
“The first,” they said.
Jesus said to them, “I assure you: Tax collectors and prostitutes are entering the kingdom of God before you! 32 For John came to you in the way of righteousness,(G) and you didn’t believe him. Tax collectors and prostitutes did believe him, but you, when you saw it, didn’t even change your minds then and believe him.
The Parable of the Vineyard Owner
33 “Listen(H) to another parable:(I) There was a man, a landowner, who planted a vineyard, put a fence around it, dug a winepress in it, and built a watchtower.(J) He leased it to tenant farmers and went away.(K) 34 When the grape harvest[a] drew near, he sent his slaves to the farmers to collect his fruit. 35 But the farmers took his slaves, beat one, killed another, and stoned a third.(L) 36 Again, he sent other slaves, more than the first group, and they did the same to them. 37 Finally, he sent his son to them. ‘They will respect my son,’ he said.
38 “But when the tenant farmers saw the son, they said among themselves, ‘This is the heir. Come, let’s kill him and take his inheritance!’(M) 39 So they seized him, threw him out of the vineyard, and killed him. 40 Therefore, when the owner of the vineyard comes, what will he do to those farmers?”
41 “He will completely destroy those terrible men,” they told Him, “and lease his vineyard to other farmers who will give him his produce at the harvest.”[b](N)
42 Jesus said to them, “Have you never read in the Scriptures:
The stone that the builders rejected
has become the cornerstone.[c]
This came from the Lord
and is wonderful in our eyes?(O)[d]
43 Therefore I tell you, the kingdom of God will be taken away from you and given to a nation producing its[e] fruit. [44 Whoever falls on this stone will be broken to pieces;(P) but on whoever it falls, it will grind him to powder!]”[f]
45 When the chief priests and the Pharisees heard His parables,(Q) they knew He was speaking about them. 46 Although they were looking for a way to arrest Him, they feared the crowds, because they[g] regarded Him as a prophet.(R)
Psalm 26
Prayer for Vindication
Davidic.
1 Vindicate me, Lord,
because I have lived with integrity
and have trusted in the Lord without wavering.(A)
2 Test me, Lord, and try me;
examine my heart and mind.(B)
3 For Your faithful love is before my eyes,
and I live by Your truth.(C)
4 I do not sit with the worthless
or associate with hypocrites.
5 I hate a crowd of evildoers,
and I do not sit with the wicked.(D)
6 I wash my hands[a] in innocence(E)
and go around Your altar, Lord,(F)
7 raising my voice in thanksgiving(G)
and telling about Your wonderful works.(H)
What the Lord Hates
16 The Lord hates six things;
in fact, seven are detestable to Him:
17 arrogant eyes,(A) a lying tongue,(B)
hands that shed innocent blood,(C)
18 a heart that plots wicked schemes,(D)
feet eager to run to evil,(E)
19 a lying witness who gives false testimony,(F)
and one who stirs up trouble among brothers.(G)
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